Sunday Sewing...I'm on a Roll and Blog Hop Nears the end..........

"It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute... that gives meaning to our lives."   - Tony Robbins 

What a beautiful Sunday...........I worked last night, as I do every Friday and Saturday night, but I always enjoy my Sundays without being too terribly tired.  

I don't usually have much luck getting any sleep on Fridays in order to prepare for working that night but on Saturday I sleep nearly from the time I get home in the morning til the time I have to go back to work on Saturday night.  Anyway that rest allows me to work the night and be relatively alert enough to do a few things on Sunday before I go back to sleep to get prepared for work on Monday morning......

I know it sounds crazy but it really isn't bad at all.......My Sunday rest puts my internal clock back to "daytime" and I work 2 days at regular hours before taking off until Friday night when I start all over again......(I do my 40 hours in 4 days instead of 5)
Ok then......with that said then I will tell you that I finished up one of my Swap Blocks this morning..........My swap partner wanted this paper pieced Star Block named "Crossroads" and wanted it done in a "nautical" red, white, and blue.................

I hope she likes it.  It was a fun block to make.  I guess I should do a final straightening cut on the edges so it looks a little cleaner and I see a spot there at the bottom center where I could re-pin and match the point a little better............but I digress.....and I forget about that moving train we are supposed to look critically at our quilting from.........

And, Hey!..........I'm on a roll!  I got this wonderful surprise package from Leona at Leona's Quilting Adventure........

Look at this gorgeous FQ of "Santorini" by Lila Tueller for Moda.  Leona sent this to me for my birthday!  Leona has a Birthday Club on her blog.  Out of all the birthdays (who all received gifts too) my name was drawn to win a gift certificate from her and the Fat Quarter Shop!  After winning the gift certificate from FQS last month I am definitely on a roll..........maybe I should go buy a few lotto tickets???  Thanks so much, Leona, to you and the Fat Quarter Shop.  I am overwhelmed with your kindness. 

But instead of looking for more winning I think a better direction would be Paying it Forward with some charity quilting.  I would like to do some baby quilts for the Neo-Natal ICU or something along that line if anyone has some ideas for me...........

Here is a little Mug Rug I made for my swap partner in a different swap........

 The little frame in the middle is a "mock" cathedral window made with circles cut out with my Go! Baby die cutter.  I photographed it with several mugs and then I looked to see what it would look like as a candle mat and I think I liked it as a candle mat the best:

 Oh!  One more thing I made this week was a little paper pieced block for my Sister..........she had been wanting to use her hexagon flowers to make a wall hanging with a house in it.  I had made a block last year for a swap that she said looked a little like her house in the Hill Country.  I told her I would make the block for her.  What I didn't tell her is that I planned to (try) to make the block actually look like her house.  I "made" the pattern out of an actual photo of the house that I put in my Corel Paint program and "posterized".........

Then I used the normal photo to match up my colors..........

then I appliqued some grass and foilage and here is how it ended up.........

I was looking at the crooked roof and the crooked windows and the imperfect railing and wishing I had been a little more careful............ but Irene saw the photo and loved it and said, "I can't wait to see it in person".  

 But here is what really made me stop worrying about how it looked:  After Irene saw the block I took it to the living room where my brother in law was watching TV and lifted it up.......(he didn't know I was even making a block for her)..........and without missing a beat, his eyes lit up and he said, "It's our house on the ranch!"..................I'm happy. 


One more thing..........if you haven't already signed up for any of the giveaways in Quilting Gallery's Blog Hop.........you only have a couple of days left........most of the giveaways will end on Monday!  Click on the Blog Hop Banner up there on the right side of my blog.............

And that's all I have to talk about today.........Ta-Ta for now!